Bless your heart and your business for your kindness to the needy Community in St Catharines Ontario Canada. I hope next year that local businesses will help by pitching in and making this yearly event special.

stellas dec 25, 2010 thumbs up - Having a happy server means the world, especially on Christmas Day. I couldn't believe that people would spend Christmas with a bunch of total strangers but they did and I applaud them for that.

stellas dec 25, 2010 the bar - a great selection of drinks, a live DJ and some good dance tunes for clubbing at night. Lovely relaxing music during the day for a fine dining experience for travelers, office workers - there is a restaurant section here as well, which I did not photo.

stellas dec 25, 2010 Santa Claus has gifts for kids - can you see the pile of presents in the back? it was like 4 feet high and 12 feet wide, amazing how generous Stella's is to kids. I tried to get a gift but Santa said I was too big for one. So I asked him if I could have a car for Christmas.. he offered me a little race car.. 1 inch by 2 inches. I can't FIT in it.. I tried, even my baby toe but alas! It's too pudgy...

stellas dec 25, 2010 christmas dinner homeless. it was so cool up on the walls are tv screens and they had fireplaces on them with christmas music (compliments of bell canada cable they do that every year on the digital programming). There was a huge Christmas Tree there, it must be around 9 feet tall?

stellas dec 25, 2010 christmas cookies, one was home made and it was delicious! Send me the recipe lol I was told by the guy sitting at the bar that that chocolate covered shortcake cookie was made with rich european chocolate and it's very expensive to buy. Nothing but the best for the homeless, that's awesome...

stellas dec 25, 2010 buffet Christmas Dinner for the Homeless - man serving dressing, the food was delicious here and the turkey was moist and tender. We also had mashed potatoes, cranberries, gravy and other stuff. I can't remember!

Pay for Parking at the St Catharines Public Library - Central Branch located on Church St, this is the view from Carisle St facing James St where you can see City Hall in the distance. Our local post office is located West of here along Church, also if you need any Income Tax forms you go down here, and the Service Canada - Employment Centre (Job Searching ) is located on Church St by Wellington St across from the Market Square.

Bbblooms 128 King Street St. Catherines, ON L2R 3J1 (905) 682-5525, near Garden Path which connects you to the back door of Helen's Deli, and all other stores on the east side of James St. There's a gym down here (for men I think) and at the end of this street is St Paul Street East, close to Coffee Culture which is located at 196 St Paul Street East.

St Catharines Public Library 54 Church St Back Parking Lot - Only park here if your visiting the Library, it's a busy place and it's hard to find a parking spot here in the day time. There is also an underground parking area here as well. I've always parked a few blocks towards Welland Ave (North of here) where there is a 2 hour parking time. You can also park at the Giant Tiger - Beer Store Mall on Welland Ave as long as you plan to shop there. If not you can get a ticket. The LCBO is just up king street (West of here) in case you need to grab a bottle of wine or something.

St Catharines Public Library 54 Church St and Carisle St - Police Station. Photos by Linda Randall. Make a right onto Church, then a left on your first street and go down the hill and you find Giant Tiger on Welland Ave. Another great place to buy some groceries, clothing, toys or things for the home. It's about a 7 minute walk from the Bus Terminal on Carisle St.

alleyway and king st to carisle st - St Catharines Bus Terminal, Ontario, Canada
The police station is on the left and a new restaurant, I don't know the name of it. Actually down this street is a pasta house as well, a corner store and to your right on Garden Path, they are building a new shopping - Garage Parking Tower.

Critelli's furniture has been at 126 King Street since 1914. A historical place to shop with the finest in wood designs. Fashion Designers love their product and you get the BEST quality here.

How does a blogger breathe life into the St Catharines Ontario Canada Downtown Shopping Area? By blogging about it and showing people what they can do. Not only will I show you things to do, but I'll connect the dots, so you can have a lovely day of visiting a spa, an art gallery, going for a walk, shopping for unique fashions and interior designs to make your home your castle.

Dotted with cafe's , specialty shops and interesting things to do, who wouldn't want to travel to St Catharines and visit? You can find multi-cultural events at the Market Square where International people sell their wares.

Friday, January 21, 2011

Princess Park is near Westchester Ave and it ties in with the welland canal merritt hiking trail that runs along oakdale avenue. If you cross Oakdale Ave and go up Marren St you'll end up at Bradley Drive Park.

there is a lot of brush down here so be careful, don't go hiking here alone. There's been several attacks on this pathway.

Bradley Drive runs off of Lincoln Ave and Oakdale Ave (area) and there's some really cool trails here with great big hills to walk up and over. We did a quick scout of the area and then headed over to the 2nd Welland Canal - Merritt (Bruce Trail) Hiking Trail that runs along the old canals by Oakdale Ave and Westchester Ave. That trail will take you all the way up to the railway tracks on Moffatt St but it's blocked off now.

You can park on Moffat Street or in the parking lot near Westchester Ave, Oakdale Ave for the trails, that run north to south through the center of St Catharines.

These trails lead from Thorold Ontario (the mountain locks where Canals, 1, 2 were) all the way to the parks and 406 - Burgoyne Bridge which goes all the way to Martindale Road. Lots of trails to walk along in these areas and they can take from up to 4 to 6 hours to get from one side of the city to the other.

Great in the spring and summer, too cold in the winter. You can park along these areas and go for shorter hikes lasting 30 minutes to an hour but you will have to turn and walk back in order to keep it in that time frame.

The area along the canal by Oakdale Ave is a wonderful place to take your dogs for a walk (on the leash) just make sure you bring along 3 doggie bags to scoop up their poopies. I find that my dog can go about 3 times from walking this far and she's just a little toy poodle.
It must do something for them. There are NO washrooms nearby these trails.

hartzel rd - tim hortons wendys food basics -145, 149 hartzel rd

Your best bet is to hop in the car and drive to Hartzel Rd - Tim Hortons. There's also one near Glendale Ave across from the Pen Centre, just past Burleigh Hill. There is another one downtown on King Street and Welland Ave, near Niagara Street.

King St, James St, Tim Hortons is on the right here.

Helen's Deli is 2 minutes from Tim Hortons on James St, King St, and St Paul Street. The city is well connected with the hiking trails being close by.

St Paul Street also has Coffee Cultures and Coffee & Stuff is over a block on King Street, close to James Street. During the evenings after 9 pm there's loads of bars in the downtown St Catharines areas where you can grab hot and cold drinks and food.

One block from Bradley Drive Park is Oakdale Ave - Merritt Trail (Bruce Trail) that goes along the welland canal (#1, 2) and Moffatt Street. It leads to Westchester Ave (N), Glendale Ave (S) (close to the Pen Centre) but blocked off at the railway tracks on Moffatt Street.

About Me

I love writing and blogging! I like looking for information on the latest movies, music and entertainment, celebrity news. I'm also working on The Munroe Series - 14 Novels in the Romance, Mystery, Paranormal Category. The Calamity Girl - 2 Novels in Women's Fiction, Mystery, Romance. Young Adult Novels two of them about magic, witches, fairies and giants and I love going to the movies, dancing, socializing with friends and spending time with my loved ones and my dog.